Gridlocked
by Macx
Summary: It was an accident. Really. That the accident resulted in Chuck being forced to Shift, well, who knew? Certainly not Dr. Newton Geiszler, who had no idea that distilled Kaiju Blue could do that to a Shifter. No one can explain how it happened. Just like no one can explain why Chuck is stuck and can't Shift back. Or if it can be reversed. Sequel to Shifting Perspective
1. Chapter 1

TITLE: Gridlocked

Sequel to Shifting Perspective

AUTHOR: Macx

RATING: R-ish

DISCLAIMER: None of the characters belongs to me, sadly. They are owned by people with a lot more money :)

FEEDBACK: Loved

I blame certain fanart for this.

The actual birth of this fic was because of Siriniel's adorable artwork (which I can't link here due to FFNet policy)

I looked at Chuck perched on Raleigh's head and my brain started to sputter and grind and steam. I wanted to find a way to make this happen.

And then there are the gifs. All over tumblr. Of koala!Chuck. I'm a sucker for this.

You can find a few references made here to there to other koala fanart.

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Life had been good.

Maybe a little too good.

At least for the past months.

The Hong Kong Shatterdome remained open and active. The Breach remained closed and inactive. The PPCD had agreed upon a Jaeger guard over the closed Breach, which meant repairing at least two of the decommissioned Jaegers of Oblivion Bay. A new Mark-VII had been commissioned on top of that. K-science was a flourishing new branch, which meant Newton Geiszler and Hermann Gottlieb now had a full staff again.

Yes, life had been good and busy and so much better for all involved.

That was the only explanation for the events that kind of suddenly turned Raleigh Becket's own life upside down.

Not to mention that of everyone in his immediate vicinity, starting with Chuck Hansen, who was actually right in the middle. And the cause and reason.

Since Operation Pitfall Raleigh had been overwhelmed by the revelation that Chuck was a Shifter, a human being with that odd genetic defect that no one really understood and that enabled him to change his shape.

He shifted into a koala.

A koala!

Life sometimes threw you a lot, but a koala?

No, Raleigh wouldn't really have pictured the younger man as an Australian marsupial. Maybe a dingo. Or a wolverine. If anything, the Tasmanian devil would have been a perfect fit. But no, he was a koala.

Chuck wasn't a happy camper when the fact had come out to Raleigh. Others had already known, but Becket had been kind of stumped, seeing a small, gray marsupial with ginger tinges to the fur, wrapped in bandages, healing from the near-fatal injuries he had received.

It had been love.

The attraction had been there before, but in the weeks after the closure of the Breach the two men had gotten closer and closer. The instinctual trust Chuck had shown in his altered shape had helped bring down walls and cement something that had been slowly developing already.

The next six months had been a flurry of activity, of interviews, talk shows, representing the PPDC, and generally trying to get their lives into order. One Mark-III Jaeger had already been brought to Hong Kong and the new Mark-VII was almost ready for launch. Raleigh was looking forward to taking her out. Mako, who was overseeing reconstruction and repair, was just as excited. She had been designated Paradox Delta and she was a beauty.

Another fact was the ongoing research into Kaijus, which meant their leading K-scientists were up to their eyebrows in work.

Just why that work happened to cross paths with Chuck was a mystery.

It happened.

And Raleigh looked at the result of a lab accident that had him want to laugh and cry in one.

_No_, he thought almost desperately. _No, no, fuck no! This can't be happening!_

In Newton's case, the sheer horror written all over his face came first.

Hermann was simply stunned, leaning on his cane, for once speechless.

As was Chuck.

Koalas couldn't talk.

Raleigh stared at the small bundle of fur, sitting in what were his human clothes, covered in a slimy gunk that was mostly blue-gray with the odd fluorescent orangey yellow here or there. The slime matted down the fluffy fur, turning the normally chubby looking koala into what could be called the wet cat equivalent of the marsupial world. The expression in the small face was a mix of outrage, disbelief and murderous intent.

The latter was aimed at the K-scientist still staring at him with dread and the realization that something had truly gone FUBAR.

"Fuck!" Newton breathed.

Around them, the alarms were blaring, calling attention to the mishap. Biologicals were out in the open and decontamination protocols would have to be observed.

Chuck glared at the three humans, then transferred his glare to the Marshall who had stormed into the lab on Raleigh's heels.

A lab that had by now been sectioned off by the transparent walls that had slid shut, that sealed in the koala, the two scientists, and a lot of slime. People in hazmat suits were running toward the airlock, carrying decon gear and what looked like a box that had an eerie resemblance to a cat carrier.

Yeah, Raleigh was really close to laughing now. It was sheer desperation and the need to wake up out of this ridiculous dream.

"What the hell?" Herc demanded, jerking him out of his thoughts. "Turn off that blasted alarm!"

It took three more blares, then the noise died down, though the blinking lights remained.

Herc's eyes fell on his son, his Shifted son, and they widened.

"Hell, no!"

Chuck made a noise of outrage, the black button eyes so full of venom as they looked at Newton, Raleigh was convinced that if koalas could jump that far and tear anyone's face off, Chuck was very close to doing so.

"Newton!" Herc yelled, his voice carrying over the intercom between the sealed lab and the outside world.

"I don't know what happened!" the scientists exclaimed. "It… exploded! And he… simply… I mean, I didn't think there was anything that could make a Shifter change unwillingly!"

By now the hazmat guys were inside, swarming around the lab. Hermann was snapping at the one trying to get him to step away.

"Gottlieb, behave!" Herc ordered sharply. "Geiszler! What the bloody hell happened in there? Why is my son Shifted?"

"I don't know!" Newton cried, gesticulating wildly. "And he wasn't supposed to be here!"

Raleigh caught one of the hazmat team trying to touch the gunk covered koala and he nearly had his hand bitten off for his troubles. Well, not really. Koalas weren't vicious predators, but this wasn't a normal marsupial. This was a pissed off Chuck Hansen with a temper the size of a category-4 Kaiju.

He had teeth.

They hurt.

"Chuck!" Herc snapped.

The button eyes flashed and the koala snarled.

Yes, he was as sight to behold. All he needed was to be frothing at the mouth and someone would shoot him, Raleigh mused.

"Don't make me come in there!" the Marshall bellowed.

Maybe it was his imagination, but Raleigh thought he saw Chuck give them the finger. The staring contest was probably one for the annals of Shatterdome Incidents That Will Only Be Talked About In Whispers, but Chuck finally relented and got into the carrier, leaving a puddle of slime behind.

In the meantime, someone had ushered the two scientists into the decon area. They were out of sight, but not out of earshot. Hermann was complaining loudly about the indignity, the ineptness of his colleague, and the situation in general.

Herc turned to Raleigh. The American pilot just shrugged.

"Let's hope this isn't worse than it looks," Herc muttered.

"How could it be worse?" Raleigh asked, sounding almost philosophical.

Herc snorted. "He could be stuck like that."

Becket felt a flash of real fear. "He what?!"

"There are wild tales about it. Don't tell me you haven't read about it?" Herc asked tiredly as they walked toward Medical where Chuck would be.

Of course Raleigh had read a lot about Shifters. His partner was one. He really wanted to know all there was, even if it wasn't much. One of the wilder, more outrageous tales was about Shifters who stayed in their animal forms for too long and forgot how to become human again. Or that they were human at all. Science had no evidence for that ever happening.

"You think that might… happen?" he asked tentatively.

Herc laughed roughly, running a hand through his short hair. "With Chuck? Doubt it. He knows what he is. But something triggered a Shift. He was forced into this and that's really not good."

"Maybe it was just the same reaction like after Operation Pitfall?"

"He isn't injured, Raleigh. He isn't dying." Herc was clearly pushing back those terrible memories.

No, Chuck wasn't dying.

Hopefully.

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Chuck wasn't dying, but someone would soon be dead if the Shifter had it his way.

Sitting in decon, his fur a mass of blue and orange-blue gunk, unfamiliar hands trying to scrub him clean, Chuck Hansen was pretty close to ripping someone's arm out.

Or bite a finger off.

Or just sink his teeth in whatever body part.

He might not be able to do a lot of damage, but he would leave a bruise.

Or two.

And if death glares became a weapon, the Shifter would be unbeatable.

The hazmat-clad team was moving busily around him, hosing him down, removing the rest of the substance that had covered him, and generally making themselves into very viable targets for bites and scratches the moment Chuck was over his shock.

He had Shifted.

By force! No free will! It hadn't even been a reaction to a threat, to a physical injury. It had just… happened. One moment he was in the lab, the next he was his koala Shifted self, staring up at the men around him, who looked as thunderstruck as he had felt.

And then he had been whisked off to Quarantine.

Well, fuck.

He wanted to know what had happened to him. He wanted to know how to reverse this. He wanted to know whose bloody fault it was that he had been forced to Shift!

And if one of the guys in the full body condom fuzzing about him touched him like that one more time, limbs would be torn off!

He snarled at a woman holding a sponge. She gave him a calming smile as she proceeded to wipe him down.

It was humiliating! It was embarrassing!

She gently took a paw and cleaned off the slimy stuff from his fingers, always slipping samples into a dish to be analyzed.

_Someone will pay for this_, Chuck decided darkly as he let them work.

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"We don't know exactly what triggered the change," Dr. Rudy Seyfert said, looking calmly at Marshall Hercules Hansen, who was trying not to show how tense and furious he was. "My team is still removing every last trace of it from Ranger Hansen. Samples will be turned over to K-Sciences. What I can tell you is that it isn't poisonous or harmful to humans or Shifters in any way."

"It triggered a change," Herc growled. "I call that harmful!"

"That is the interesting part. The compound is completely neutral, Marshall Hansen. Dr. Geiszler has kept meticulous logs on his experiments. He distilled the gelatinous substance out of Kaiju Blue, removing the acidic, poisonous substances and breaking down the blood into its basic components. What Ranger Hansen came in contact with is a neutral substance, actually. Neither Dr. Geiszler, nor Dr. Gottlieb, show any effects."

"They aren't Shifters," Raleigh said softly.

"That seems to be the only difference," Seyfert agreed. "I have no experience with Shifters, I am sad to say. I've tried to reach a colleague of mine who has researched Shifter physiology, but she seems to be unavailable. My best guess is that the distilled blood reacted with the one thing in a Shifter that makes him different from the rest of us. We all know that the trigger in their genetic make-up isn't hereditary, which makes it so incredibly difficult to draw any kind of conclusion. This might just be something uniquely to your son, Marshall Hansen. Or it might be something affecting all Shifters. Or just those who Shift into a marsupial. Maybe only those who grow fur."

"So you have no idea what to do, how to reverse it, and if it is permanent," Herc summed it all up.

"Sadly, yes."

Herc looked past Seyfert to the room they were currently keeping Chuck in.

"You can see him," the doctor offered.

"Damn right I can," Herc muttered.

"There is nothing we can do for now. He is free to leave," Seyfert went on. "The mood he is in I'd prefer it even."

Raleigh could very well imagine the mood his partner was in. Chuck was temperamental and mouthy. This… whatever this was… would have him livid.

Herc nodded and walked toward the door, Raleigh in tow.

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Chuck Hansen might be an arrogant ass sometimes. Ornery as hell. Opinionated. Raleigh himself had once thought him to be an egotistical jerk with issues that would keep a whole team of psychoanalysts happy for the rest of their lives. Books could have been written about him.

All that had changed within the past months. He had gotten to know the man behind those shields, behind the mask he had so carefully crafted, and he had found so much more. Chuck was all that and he was also someone else. He was a damn good Jaeger pilot. He was one of the best, actually. His intuition was spot on. He knew his machine and he did so because he enjoyed working with the mechanics, taking apart pieces of his Jaeger and understanding what made it tick. There was nothing he didn't know about the machine and about Drift technology.

He was well-liked, actually loved, by the Jaeger mechanics. They knew he understood what they were doing and his feedback on their work was valued. He had a soft spot the size of Mutavore.

And when he got invested, he was there one hundred percent.

Be it anger or love.

Raleigh had made it past the anger. Their relationship had started out in the worst possible place and it had developed into what they had now. Raleigh couldn't really put it into words, but he knew he was invested, too. Very much. They lived together, they worked together, they fought and loved together.

And he knew that his partner was a Shifter.

A Shifter who was sitting dejectedly on a too large bed, looking small and almost terrified of what had happened to him. The gray fur with its delightful, ginger highlights was clean, but it didn't look as fluffy as usual. The large ears drooped left and right of the adorably fuzzy face. Chuck had curled up, making himself even smaller than he was – and he was actually rather small for a koala male. Raleigh wanted to do nothing more than walk over there and pick him up, hold him, give him something to hold on to.

Chuck Hansen was a very tactile person, even if he would fight that description tooth and nail, would rather bite his tongue off than confess that he loved be touched. Maybe it was his Shifter heritage; maybe it was something lingering underneath the arrogant sob shell.

If Raleigh had learned something in the weeks after Operation Pitfall when Chuck had been a charred looking, thickly bandaged koala it was that he healed faster when he was in close contact to someone he trusted.

He wasn't physically injured this time, but it was a wound nevertheless.

Raleigh held back, though. Herc was Chuck's father, his family, and he had been the person Chuck had always trusted in that Shifted state.

So he stopped a few steps into the room and let Herc walk over to his son, talking softly to the dejected looking koala.

"Hey, kid."

Chuck glanced up, not moving a lot, actually, and one ear flicked.

"Doc's saying you can leave."

Another flick of the ear.

"They're working on finding out what happened," Herc added, reaching out to brush a gentle caress over the large, fluffy ear.

Chuck grumbled something, but it didn't sound pissed off. Simply… resigned.

"C'mon," Herc coaxed and scratched him a little. "I know how you hate this place." His large palm stroked over the bowed back, soothing, reassuring, fatherly.

It looked so easy as the Marshall hoisted the small bundle of misery up against one shoulder. It was a practiced move; not something he had done for the first time. Chuck just buried his face against the jacket, eyes closed, trying to shut out the world. His paws buried in Herc's worn jacket and he made soft little noises that were a mixture of complaints and pleading.

Something inside Raleigh constricted, seeing the other so open and vulnerable. Chuck never let his guard down, never showed what he truly felt, unless you looked close enough.

Unless you knew how to take his taunts and the arrogance and the snipes.

Unless you were his father or his lover. And for the latter it had to be Raleigh Becket, who had known the younger Hansen long enough, intimately enough, to understand what went on in that thick head of his sometimes.

Never show a weakness, never give in, never surrender, always come out on top and be at the top.

Now he had been forced into his koala form, a shape where he was of no use at all, had no fighting potential and couldn't even communicate.

Raleigh pushed away the doctor's words rising in his mind again.

What if this was permanent?

Herc's intensely blue eyes met Raleigh's. His face reflected Raleigh's fears.

"C'mon, let's go," the Marshall rumbled.

It sounded as close to an order as such soft words could get. Raleigh followed, glad no one gave them more than a fleeting look.

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Dr. Newton Geiszler, six doctorates, genius scientist, foremost researcher into the field of Kaiju biology, sat in his lab and stared at the screen in front of him.

He didn't really see the letters and numbers, or the diagrams accompanying the results. All he saw was what had been burned into his mind: Chuck Hansen, koala, covered in distilled Kaiju blue. Forced to change shape because of some inexplicable reaction.

_No!_ his brain growled. _No, no, NO!_

There was nothing in any journal, research text or publication about Kaijus that suggested that their bodily fluids could trigger a Shifter.

_Just be glad he's still alive!_ a nasty part of his brain that sounded suspiciously like a certain colleague of his told him viciously. _He could be dead! He could be a puddle of goo! What were you thinking, Newton Geiszler?_

Not much, apparently. He hadn't even really given the holding tank much thought. It had been one of many projects running in his labs.

_As the head scientist of Biological Kaiju Research you should know about ever project going on!_

_Yeah, well, so sue me!_ he thought rebelliously.

And maybe someone would. Like a koala-shaped Chuck Hansen or his father, who happened to be the Marshall and, technically, Newt's boss.

He was so screwed!

Newton didn't know all too many Shifters, but he had talked to a Dr. Leslie Winn in the past. He had no idea where Winn was now, if he was actually still alive, but the man had been a Shifter. A thin wisp of a man, but his alternate form had been that of a huge, black bear.

And he had been studying Kaiju Blue.

Newton entered Winn's name, running a search, but it didn't pop up in any of the Shatterdome's files on PPDC personnel. Winn had been affiliated with the Shatterdome in Lima, but that had been closed down, and maybe he had simply retired.

Not that Newton could understand the concept. Kaijus, man! He would never retire from that!

With a sigh he slid off the chair and paced around the lab, stopping in front of the still closed-off section where Chuck had been drenched in the distilled blood.

Newt still had samples and he would get blood samples from Chuck. He would find out what had happened.

"Why are you still here?"

The voice was filled with so much snark and underlying criticism, it had Geiszler smile automatically.

"Hey, there, Hermann."

"Dr. Gottlieb to you," was the automatic answer as Hermann limped closer.

He looked pale as usual, maybe a bit more tired and his clothes a bit more rumpled. To Newton he was a sight for sore eyes and when Hermann stopped next to him, the biologist wrapped an arm around the slender waist and rested his head on one narrow shoulder.

Hermann stiffened.

"Dr. Geiszler!"

They had an agreement. Well, Hermann had an agreement with himself that somehow included Newt to a degree. Well, it involved him all the way, he had to correct himself. It had always been with him, all the way, ever since Gottlieb had let his guard down and accepted that their bickering and fighting was more than just that.

It hadn't been any less explosive in the labs since that fateful night when Newt had taken matters into his own hands and had told Hermann how and what he felt. It had just gotten more… intense. And intimate.

One rule was: no public displays of affection.

Newt argued that all they did was PDA, from the looks to the gestures to the arguing.

Hermann usually countered that with scathing looks, a twist of the mouth, and making a strategical retreat to his work station.

"Relax. No one's here and no one actually gives a flying whatever, dude." Newton sighed and closed his eyes. "I screwed up, Herm."

There was a tentative caress over his back and he smiled a little. The smile grew when Gottlieb wrapped his free arm around him, returning the hug, and then pressed dry lips against his neck.

"While I'm inclined to agree to your last statement most of the time," Hermann said, voice holding a little aloof note, "you never broke lab protocol in all the years we worked together. You might be a bit lax in your work ethics, but you wouldn't endanger anyone, let alone a Shifter."

Newton felt something inside of him warm a little, then unravel from the tight knot it had been in. Hermann delivered a little kiss to the tousled hair.

"Have you looked into lab protocols? Who worked on that particular project? Who was in charge of securing the storage tanks?"

Newton suddenly straightened, almost dislodging Gottlieb. "Fuck!" he breathed.

"Dr. Geiszler, please…"

"Lorse!"

Gottlieb frowned.

"Dr. Roman Lorse!" Newton exclaimed. "The guy with an ego the size of the Shatterdome, who knows everything, who can do everything, who has connections in all the right places!"

"Oh. Yes." Hermann grimaced. "Him."

Lorse had been a pain for all the three months he had been at the Shatterdome. He had never worked in one before, knew next to nothing about rules and regulations concerning Shatterdomes, and he had been in very loud and harsh arguments with most of the staff. When he had gone head to head with the Marshall, Lorse had found himself on the next plane out. Herc was a calm, reasonable, level-headed Marshall, but Lorse had really made it impossible for him to ignore all the complaints any more.

And Lorse had been the one working on the Kaiju Blue distillation.

And he had been the one to store the results in the tank that had exploded and showered Chuck in the slimy result of the distillation process.

"I… I never signed off on that," Newton suddenly whispered, horrified.

As head K-scientist in the biologicals department he had to approve and supervise whatever happened inside his labs. Their team was small and, aside from Lorse, competent enough that Newton felt he could leave them to their research.

Hermann frowned and nudged him over to the computer. He called up the files.

Newton paled. "Fuck!"

There, on a digital report copy, was his signature.

A fake one.

Lorse had faked his signature.

And now Chuck was a koala.

tbc...


	2. Chapter 2

Herc Hansen had seen his son through all kinds of trouble. From skinned knees to broken bones to school troubles and bullies, and then, on that fateful day, the death of his mother. Angela Hansen. His wife. His beautiful, loving, strong Angela.

Times had been hard after that, for both of them. And then his son had triggered his Shifter abilities, surprising Herc, surprising everyone. Neither of Chuck's parents had the gene in them and to Herc's knowledge there were no other Shifters in his family. Maybe there had been one in Angela's, but there were no relatives to ask anymore. Her parents had died, as had her grandparents. She had been an only child and her aunt and uncle Herc hadn't been able to find again.

So he had done as best as he could, had helped Chuck, had helped himself. His son could shape-change into a koala; so what? It hadn't been an issue since and it meant he healed a lot better, which had been his ticket to survival after Operation Pitfall.

Now he was stuck again because of some kind of Kaiju substance?

Running a broad hand over the curled up form, Herc smiled sadly. Chuck had fallen asleep, clinging to his father's jacket, and Herc had done what came naturally. This was like the times before when Chuck had been hurt, physically or emotionally. This time it was both. He might be physically fine, no open wounds, scratches or the like, but the forced Shift had been hurtful. In addition the emotional stress had pushed Chuck into his instinctive behavior to seek out his father.

Herc was aware that Raleigh had wanted to be there as well, had been there, but he had left Chuck with the Marshall and not argued for a second. He understood and Herc was glad for it.

Chuck moved sleepily, making a soft noise, and Herc smiled a little more.

It was almost like having his baby boy again, sleeping against his shoulder as Angela watched them with a fond expression. She would have loved seeing her little Charlie as a koala, would have loved and accepted him as Herc had.

He missed her.

Pushing the old emotions aside, Herc rested his face against the furry marsupial. Chuck smelled of antiseptics. His fur was coarser than before, with an odd blue tinge to it. That would wash out, he had been reassured.

Hopefully whatever substance in the Kaiju gunk had triggered the Shift would wash out, too.

_We'll get through this_, he thought. _All of us._

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The sky was dark and foreboding, the clouds racing across the black and dark grey sea. The violent wind pushed them ahead faster and faster, and rain fell like sheets, drowning the streets. Everywhere sewers gurgled, trying to manage the gallons of water, and some basements were flooded. In Hong Kong an underground line had to be closed down due to water damage. Traffic had nearly died down by now and everyone who really, really didn't have to be outside wasn't any more.

Thunder rumbled ominously through the twilight darkness, sometimes lightning flashes accompanied the noise the weather made.

In the Shatterdome, the rumble was distant and barely audible. The thick plating insulated everything quite nicely. Raleigh had wandered around the Jaeger bays, nodding at the few nightshift workers, then had made his way through the silent corridors, up to the observation room.

That's where he had stayed, watching the thunderstorm unfold.

Chuck would stay with Herc tonight. Raleigh felt a little superfluous, but he understood that the father-son bond topped the one of the partner.

"Raleigh?"

He turned and gave Mako a wan smile. "Hey."

She walked up to him, face filled with compassion. "I heard what happened. Is Chuck okay?"

"I guess. As far as he can be okay being a koala without wanting to be."

She wrapped an arm around his waist and hugged him. It was a warm, sisterly hug, filled with emotions they didn't have to talk about. They were Drift partners and it was one of the many advantages. Mako knew him like only Yancy ever had before her.

"He'll be fine," she said softly.

"I hope so."

"Raleigh Becket," she said, stepping back and looking him square in the eyes. "Chuck will be fine. He has gone through worse and made it back."

Raleigh had to smile despite his fears. "Yeah, you're right."

"And he will need you. He will need his father and his friends, too."

"I won't leave him. Ever."

"Even if it is something that cannot be reversed easily?" she challenged.

He chuckled. "Even then. I love him. I'm not leaving. And he is an adorable, little fuzz face."

Mako's smile was almost mischievous. "That he is."

Somehow he felt better with his co-pilot there, watching the night, the storm, the rain.

"Let him sleep off the shock of this with the family he knows. Get some sleep of your own, Raleigh," she advised. "He will be a handful."

"He always is."

She chuckled and nodded at him to come with her.

Raleigh did.

They parted after a late night tea in the mess hall.

X X X

Raleigh felt strangely alone that night, in the empty quarters, an empty bed, and he wondered if Chuck missed him just a little bit.

"Fuck," he growled and punched his pillow.

Yes, he had it bad for Chuck Hansen. Yes, he was a sucker and sap and whatever else his partner would call him. And yes, he would have curled up with the gray-ginger little fuzz-face, like he had in the past, and he would have been there in whatever capacity he could.

Right now, he couldn't.

It had been Chuck's choice and he honored it.

He needed family right now. It was this deeply ingrained, primal instinct to trust blood family only. That it made Raleigh feel like a fifth wheel was of no consequences.

And that Raleigh could still see the ball of misery curled up against Herc didn't help either.

Instinct was instinct, despite the fact that Chuck Hansen was his human self, that aside from looking like a koala and unable to talk, he wasn't the animal at all.

X X X

The thing was, apparently Chuck operated a lot on instinct nevertheless.

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Raleigh sat perched on the sideboard, with his back against the wall, legs drawn up, arms resting on his knees. The air vent was right next to his face and if he squinted into the twilight, he could just imagine a curled up ball of fluff not far away.

Chuck had gotten into the vents.

At least that was what Tendo had told him. It had sounded like he was a rat about to chew at the electrical cables. Tendo had even grinned as he had pushed Raleigh into taking care of it.

Herc, knowing and patient father of a Shifter he was, had just shrugged. "He did that as a kid sometimes. To sulk. Or hide."

Great. Yeah, he had heard about it. Since Chuck wasn't a child anymore and tended to take his frustration out verbally or in the Kwoon, Raleigh hadn't thought that he would have to talk to a koala in the vents.

"I know it sucks," he said, not even looking inside. His gaze was fixed on the opposite wall. "Badly. And you know Newton didn't do it on purpose. No one knew there was anything out there to make a Shifter change shape. Kaiju fluids seem to have a weird effect on some people. I mean, they are life forms from another dimension. Their blood is corrosive, can kill us, poison us. You know how affected the oceans are, how people try to filter and siphon and just scrub it all clean. There's talk about mutations and losing fauna and flora, and whatever else might happen."

No sound. Not even a huff.

"And Newton didn't do anything he hasn't done before. He's been analyzing Kaijus for the past decade or more. He knows more about them than most scientists. He and Hermann. He said he had filtered out something or other from the blood and that was what hit you."

This time he thought there was a noise.

"I'm just glad you didn't get hit with Kaiju Blue or worse. You could have been poisoned. Well, you have been," Raleigh amended with a helpless sigh. "But your body is amazing, Chuck. You heal at an accelerated rate and all you have to do is wait. You'll get rid of the contamination."

There was a grumble.

"And they won't even force you to stay in quarantine or decon you every five minutes."

A rumble.

Yep, that hadn't been pretty to watch: decontaminating a pissed off koala was very low on anyone's list by now.

"I know no one has a clue as to when you'll be rid of all of this. But it'll be fine. You're you, right?"

A huff.

"Of course you are. And we have worked with this before when you weren't yourself. At least fully. We can do it again."

There was a scratching sound, hard nails on metal, then the vent was pushed open.

Raleigh turned his head and looked into the adorably fuzzy face of his partner. Chuck looked absolutely pissed, like he would rather bite anyone than let them help him. His ears were turned backwards and he made a noise almost like a snarly growl.

Raleigh smiled softly. "Hey."

He made no move to touch him. He liked his fingers; especially attached to his hand.

Chuck grumpily settled his head on his forepaws. He didn't need to be able to talk to get his point across.

"Yeah," Raleigh agreed.

The furred fingers tapped against the metal vent, like Chuck was undecided what steps to take next.

"You hungry?" Raleigh offered.

It got him a little snort, but the Shifter's face held a rather agreeable expression for a moment.

Raleigh got up and smiled, then held out a hand. Chuck sat up and curled the fingers of a paw around the offered digits, then let himself get pulled out of the vent. He ended up clinging to Raleigh and, after some rearranging, settled mostly on his shoulder. It was a little awkward and Raleigh had to adjust to the weight on his right side, as well as the now very limited view on that side, but the snuffle against his ear was worth it.

Chuck sounded pleased.

He scratched the thick fur. "Me, too," he murmured.

He might not be able to understand his partner, but he did know him. And he knew how to interpret the many sounds.

X X X

That evening, when Raleigh went to Herc's quarters, Chuck gave them a piece of his mind. In koala. His complaints were easily translated and Herc chuckled as Raleigh winced. The snarls weren't in English, but they didn't need to be.

"You want to stay with me?" the blond asked.

Chuck gave him a 'really?!' kind of look that had the Marshall laugh out loud.

"He isn't primal, Raleigh. He's Chuck. Last night was the trauma talking. Or acting. And even if he wasn't fully himself, you know his instincts tend to lean toward you."

Raleigh felt the heat rise a little. Chuck's paws on his face had him turn his head and he nearly went cross-eyed from looking at the koala. Chuck snorted, then climbed onto his shoulder like a rotund, tailless squirrel.

"Seyfert wants to see you tomorrow at eleven. Be there," Herc ordered.

"We will."

Chuck only huffed.

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Max took in the koala and the fact that this was actually his human with an almost stoic calm. He sniffed at Chuck, then snuffled a little, and finally trotted over to his doggy bed. It wasn't like the whole matter was news to him. He could probably smell that Chuck was different, could smell that it was him right now, so why the fuss?

Raleigh smiled and watched Chuck settle on the couch, groping for the TV remote. He switched on the TV and flipped through the channels until he found something interesting to watch.

Raleigh joined him.

He had nothing else to do anyway.

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Chuck insisted on a bath that night. Raleigh had to agree that the antiseptic smell was disgusting and there were still areas where the decon substance was clumping the fur together. It shouldn't be so amusing to see a wet koala sitting in the sink, using a sponge to clean whatever areas he could use, but it was.

Until the sponge hit Raleigh squarely in the face.

Chuck smirked. Dripping wet, looking half his size, fur sticking up in every which direction, he clearly smirked.

Raleigh shook his head. "You're how old?"

Chuck tilted his head, then stood and, before Raleigh could react, shook himself like a wet dog.

Yeah, three years old. And not a day older.

He plucked the wet marsupial out of the sink and proceeded to towel-dry him, then used a hairdryer. In the end Chuck looked like a fluffy ball of gray and ginger fur. A very smug one on top of that.

And he smelled of Raleigh's body wash.

"Up for a movie?"

Chuck, perched on the table, pointedly looked down and then up at Raleigh. Becket complied the unspoken question and sat him on the floor. Koalas were quite fast on their four legs, he had found out. Chuck sauntered ahead of him and climbed the couch in no time, sitting back on his furry behind and giving Raleigh an expectant look.

"No beer, no sodas."

The koala growled a protest.

"Water, snacks, whatever, but no beer."

Chuck pouted, but he did dig into the sandwiches and chips. Shifters had the same metabolism and digestive system in their animal form as they had as humans. The koala didn't need a special diet, though alcohol was a no go.

By the end of the movie Chuck had curled up against Raleigh's stomach, looking pleasantly blissed-out from food and body heat, and he was nodding off.

Raleigh let him.

One hand stroking over the ridiculously cute ginger highlights that he loved so much, he watched the movie as his koala fell asleep.

tbc...


	3. Chapter 3

Herc felt admirably calm when Newton gave him the report on the broken holding tank and the fact that Dr. Roman Lorse had faked the signature of his boss, the head of the Kaiju biology lab, which had resulted in the accidental Shift. He had circumvented so many safety protocols, it was a miracle half the Shatterdome hadn't blown up around them. As it was, Lorse had fucked up the holding tank seals, as well as used cheap materials to create his own version of what Newton had developed a long time ago and had used successfully in the past.

The Marshall had read up on the former Shatterdome scientist and had to wonder what had made the PPDC hire him. The man was neither sane nor competent. He had most likely been one of the few willing to work under such conditions, right at the front, away from the more cozy labs.

But that had cost them.

As it had cost Chuck now.

"Where are we with the gunk, Newt?"

"I'm working on it," Geiszler promised. "So far it looks like, uhm, an allergic reaction."

"Allergic?" Herc echoed, already drawing up a battle plan to track down Lorse and make his remaining life hell.

"First guess, really. I'll let you know. Uhm, Marshall Hansen, sir."

He chuckled. "Herc will do fine, Newt. I want all of Lorse's work checked, though. And I mean all. All signatures that are not his own are to be checked, too."

Newton nodded. "Already on it."

"Good."

Geiszler chewed on his lower lip, then finally nodded and left his office. Herc didn't blame the man. Lorse had fallen through a lot of cracks and holes and had ended up here. They had had enough problems already, so no one had really supervised the newcomers all too tightly or closely.

That had been a mistake.

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The thing about being a koala was: communication was a bitch. When Chuck chose to be his alter ego voluntarily, Shifting back gave him a way to talk when necessary. As a teenager he had used the smaller form to hide inside the vents and drive his old man mad. When he had joined the Jaeger Academy he had sought out the ventilation system to get some alone time. For all of it he had made the conscious choice. And he had never been needed to talk or communicate otherwise.

It was fun.

When he Shifted because he was injured, it happened instinctively and he usually wasn't very much aware of himself. He spent his time being a fluffy marsupial, healing his injuries, trusting in his father to protect him. No problem at all.

Now he was neither nor.

He was fully conscious of who and what he was, and he couldn't change back.

Fuck.

Bloody fucking hell!

So communication was either by animal noises, gestures and as much glaring as a koala could do. Or he used a tablet with very large sensor keys. Having fur on his paws didn't help either.

Chuck snarled and hammered onto the screen, but the letters refused to react. He glared at his paws and wondered if he could shave off the fur without removing a layer of skin. He would have to ask his father or Raleigh.

"For the love of god!"

A hand reached past him and snatched the tablet. Chuck transferred his glare onto Hermann Gottlieb.

Hermann ignored him, tapping something into the tablet and finally placed it back down again.

"I don't know what moron gave this to you, but they should have taken into account that fur acts like a glove and can't relay touch. This will do now."

Chuck grumbled something and brushed his paw over the screen. It reacted without a problem. He huffed softly.

"I take that as a thank you. And you are welcome."

Chuck nodded at the scientist, who limped over to the coffee machine. Hermann came back to him after refilling his coffee mug.

"How do you carry your communication device?" he asked, brows furrowing a little.

Chuck snorted. Not at all, was the clear answer.

Gottlieb picked up the small tablet and turned it over and around, studying it.

"Can I borrow this?"

Chuck shrugged.

"You'll have it back soon."

X X X

'Soon' was two hours later. The tablet now had Velcro straps attached to it that enabled Chuck to slip it onto his back like a backpack.

He stared at it, flabbergasted.

"You are welcome," Hermann said, a tiny smile on his lips.

Chuck blinked at the other man, then nodded.

Inside he was going 'wow' in an almost reverent voice.

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They fell into a kind of daily routine.

Chuck slept with Raleigh, in their shared bed, curled up and clinging to Raleigh's pillow, which left the American to use Chuck's. They had breakfast with Mako, Herc and Tendo, though not in the mess. All five chose a separate area, close to Herc's quarters and office. It had been a meeting room once.

People in the Shatterdome knew about the accident, that Chuck had been forced to Shift, but that didn't mean Raleigh carried the koala everywhere. Chuck wasn't comfortable with anyone touching him while he was a small, helpless marsupial and he liked his privacy. It was one of the reasons why they didn't eat in the mess.

They dropped by Medical after breakfast every morning, Chuck sat through the routine exams, grumbled to himself, glared at Seyfert, had his blood taken and fur samples pulled, and then, after two hours, they were off again. Raleigh usually spent the time going over Jaeger tech specs, reading through the latest maintenance logs, and talking to Mako.

Kwoon training appointments had Chuck sitting on the sideline, attentively watching Raleigh and Mako spar. His facial expressions ranged from secretly impressed to not impressed at all. Sometimes he would give Raleigh the koala equivalent of the raised eyebrow in the end and Raleigh knew that the other pilot would have also given him a piece of his mind if he had been able to talk.

"You are off your game," Mako remarked, clearing away the staffs. "You can't be distracted in a Drift, Raleigh."

"I know, I know. It's… I need to get used to that."

"That?"

"Chuck might not change back, Mako," Raleigh said, playing with a towel.

Chuck grumble-snorted, clearly affronted that they were talking about him as if he wasn't there. Raleigh gave him an apologetic look.

The koala growled, then took his tablet and typed.

'You don't know that, Becket!' the computerized voice Hermann had added a few days ago said. It sounded neutral, but Chuck's expression was far from that.

"Chuck is correct," Mako simply said. "Even if that is the case, you cannot let go of your focus in a fight."

Raleigh sat down and Chuck stared at him; hard. Very hard. Then he slapped his paw against Becket's thigh, huffing.

'Ass' he typed onto the screen. 'Not the optimist you usually are. Why?'

"No idea," was the soft answer. "Maybe I'm overthinking it."

'Shou strt thinkign' Chuck typed, grumbling at the typos. 'Might be novelty'.

"And you need a spellchecker."

The black button eyes held a lethal glare and the next slap was with the tablet against Raleigh's thigh.

"Don't break it."

Chuck snarkeled a little to himself as he typed. 'Break you if you don't stop misery' he let the computer vocalize the snarkle.

Raleigh grinned a little more. "I get it, I get it."

Mako tapped her bo staff onto the ground. "Break's over, Becket."

"Coming," he laughed, smiling as she raised her eyebrows.

Chuck settled back, the tablet at his side, watching as both pilots went through the motions, each movement perfectly synched, almost like a dance.

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The weather had deteriorated again after almost four days of no rain and hardly any wind. The sky was a leaden gray and by three p.m. it was too dark to see much of anything. Clouds were churning across the sky and the wind had picked up. The rain had come nonstop and showed no sign of getting less.

Chuck sat at the large window in the empty room he had chosen to mope in.

Yeah, he was moping. He was entitled to.

He had kept his chin up, as mother had always told him to when he had been a kid and the bullies had tried to make his life hard. He had made the best of the situation. He had tried not to let on how bad this was for him.

Until today.

Life sucked and it had sucked the worst today.

Life as a koala wasn't easy, especially when he was running on all mental cylinders and not acting out his instinctual needs. Six months ago he had almost died and the first few days had been a blur. Now… he wasn't dying, wasn't even injured, and he was quite aware of who and what he was.

Chuck Hansen. Best damn Jaeger pilot. Shifter. Currently a koala.

The rain was beating against the window, running down in thick rivulets, obscuring the view.

Chuck curled up, a gray-ginger ball of fluff.

Thoughts Raleigh had voiced a few days ago came to mind. Thoughts he had slapped the other man for and demanded he be an optimist.

What if this was permanent?

What if he would never be his human self again?

Could he live as a koala? Could he work?

What would he do if this didn't get better? What about Raleigh?

It was bad enough to waddle around like this right now. He carried his tablet with him like a tiny, flat backpack. The few people he couldn't avoid running into either looked at him in pity or like they were a second away from cuddling him. Those were the moments Chuck entertained ideas about tearing people's faces off.

Just for a moment.

And it wasn't like he was capable of it.

Few treated him like he wasn't something cute and fluffy.

Herc, of course. And Raleigh.

Hermann had refined the tablet a little more, which Chuck was incredibly thankful for.

Striker's crew had been assigned to Tacit Ronin, version 2.0. Or '10+', as the chief mechanic had told him with a proud grin. The moment they were done with the upgrades and additions, all supervised by Mako Mori herself, the old Jaeger would be better than anything ever built.

Chuck still mourned Striker Eureka's demise, but he would gladly take any other Jaeger, just so he could Drift again. And he knew his dad would jump at the chance, too. No one said a Marshall couldn't Drift. No one would say that to a Hansen anyway.

He wanted to be able to Drift again. Badly. He missed it and he missed so much more. Working on his Jaeger; any Jaeger, for that! He wanted to walk around without getting stared at. He wanted to kiss Raleigh, touch him, sleep with him… as Chuck. Just be human.

Raleigh had told him he loved him, but would this have a future? What would he do if he had to remain a koala?

He sighed. It was a soft, barely audible noise. Watching the rain, Chuck tried to push thoughts about a possible future in this shape out of his head.

They would find a solution. Newton was a genius, as was Hermann.

There was always hope.

X X X

It didn't help that Raleigh found him an hour later, looking almost worried.

"There you are."

_Of course here I am_, he thought grumpily.

His tablet was still on his back and he had no intention to 'talk' to his partner. Right now he felt pissed enough not to use it.

Raleigh sat down next to him on the broad window sill, looking into the rain. He reached out, not even really thinking about it, and stroked over Chuck's head.

Fuck, it felt good! He would bite anyone's fingers off if they so much as treated him as a pet, but Raleigh was different. His touch was different. This wasn't someone petting an animal. This was Raleigh touching Chuck.

"Deep thoughts?"

He grumped.

"Yeah. But Newt will find a solution, Chuck."

_What if he won't?_

Raleigh had gotten good at reading Chuck's facial expressions and interpreting the noises he made. His lips twitched into a little smile.

"He will."

_And if not?_

"We'll find a way to work with your altered shape if… if Newt can't get you back. I'm not going to dump your furry butt. And you know Herc will always be there. I love you, okay? Doesn't change when you are like this, Chuck. I don't care."

Chuck stared at his partner, speechless, eyes wide, and he just knew his mouth hung open.

Raleigh's expression was so soft, so loving, his touch so wonderfully soothing to his frazzled nerves – and now this.

_I love you_, he thought, staring at the blond, trying to make him understand. He placed his paws on Raleigh's thigh, stretching to get closer to him. Raleigh leaned down, their noses touching.

"We'll find a solution," the American promised, pulling him into a hug against him.

Chuck hummed softly.

Maybe.

Hopefully.

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If there was one thing to be said about Chuck Hansen then it was that he was one very determined, stubborn, pig-headed and exasperating man. Well, koala. The Shifter wasn't deterred by his current state.

His state of morose moping was gone with the wind and with the new day, a new determination had set in. Raleigh had only grinned as Chuck had stalked off, tablet on his back.

He might be small, he might be furry, but he was still the same Jaeger pilot and mechanic as before. And because of his size, he was small enough to be overlooked as he waddled around the Jaeger bay and climbed over the gear.

Or onto, and into, gigantic Jaegers.

Like Tacit Ronin.

The mechanical crew knew him and just nodded a greeting, not batting an eye that a koala was among them.

Julie even gave him a set of tools that he could easily strap to his back, just like he did with the tablet. She high-fived him, smiling widely.

"Looking good, kiddo," she chuckled. "Now you only need an overall to keep the fur clean."

He snorted.

"Hey, y'know, Andy's a good tailor. He could make you a crew jacket, including all your kills."

Chuck gave her a scathing look, snarking a little.

"Just thinking, kid. Would look hot on you. And you're still a pilot, no matter what you look like."

Another snort. Chuck fastened the straps of the tool kit, then started his climb.

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"You better get your furry ass down here before I make you!" Herc snapped, glaring at the ball of gray and ginger-highlighted fur about thirty-five feet above him.

Chuck looked incredibly unimpressed, sitting snugly in an open joint compartment of Tacit Ronin's ankle, studying the bits and bolts. His fur was streaked with machine oil and soot, and he was poking at parts, inspecting them. A few mechanics had milled around when Herc had come striding into the bay, heading straight for Tacit Ronin, clearly on a war path, but they had miraculously disappeared.

Enablers! All of them! Herc fumed. He knew every single one of them. They had been Striker's crew, which meant they knew Chuck. And had a soft spot for 'their' pilot.

"I don't care what it is you are doing up there! You get down here right now!" Herc called, voice tight, anger under even tighter control. "You are on sick leave!"

Chuck grumbled something and his ears turned back, the black button eyes glaring. He had learned how to handle the instruments with his non-human paws and Herc knew that working on a Jaeger was what his son did to relax, to distract himself, and to work through his emotions.

But not right now! Not in the state he was in!

Infuriating son of a bitch!

"Now, young man!"

He felt like he was back ten years, looking at his stubborn teenage son, glaring at him over an argument, projecting this air of unfair accusations and anger.

He was getting more and more gray hairs by the minute, Herc decided as he watched a sullen koala climb down the Jaeger. Chuck slid gracefully down the incline of the gigantic foot, coming to rest on the tip of it, furious and snarling what had to be curses. He was gesturing animatedly with one paw.

"I don't care!" Herc interrupted, voice even but angry nevertheless. "I don't give a flying fuck what it is you are doing! The bay is off limits! As it everything else! You are not going to work on a Jaeger or any part of a Jaeger or will even be around a Jaeger! Do we have an understanding, Ranger?"

The small paws clenched and Chuck's fur was clearly standing up, but he nodded.

Herc stepped closer to his son, sighing. He reached out and touched one furry cheek. It was so much easier to show affection and love when Chuck was a) not able to snark back and b) all fuzzy. Yes, sure, he could express himself verbally, but only with animal noises, though Herc got the gist of it.

And still… it was easier.

He recalled holding him after the first Shift, feeling as stunned and scared as Chuck, touching the gray fur, marveling at what had happened. And he could recall every other time after that, up until Operation Pitfall. Holding the seriously injured Shifter, seeing the blood and the antiseptic mixed together to turn the gray fur orange and reddish brown. Seeing the shaved off sections. Remembering the fear and the joy and the relief that Chuck had survived.

Herc swallowed hard, looking into his son's eyes, aware that right now, his own shields were down, too.

"Chuck…"

The koala looked at him, ears drooping a little. His features had softened and there was such resignation in the dark eyes, Herc sighed again.

"C'mere," he murmured and gathered the marsupial against his chest.

Chuck didn't protest, just went with the flow, clinging to his father, face buried against one shoulder.

Yes, it was so easy when he was like that. His instincts were stronger than any shield, shattering all masks, and Chuck simply let it happened.

"We'll work this out," Herc promised.

Chuck whined a little.

"I know."

He really did.

Walking out of the bay, Herc headed for his office, Chuck half hanging onto his shoulder, half supported by his father's arm.

X X X

Herc spent the rest of the day catching up on paperwork and talking to the PPDC. They were hunting for Lorse, employing the police and every agency they could get their hands on. The pile of accusations against the scientist was growing and the moment police had him, he would be charged.

Chuck stayed with his father, playing with his tablet Herc had shoved under his nose, calling up reports, watching the news, and using the text program to communicate at least a little. Two thumbs on one hand made it a little difficult to type, but he persevered.

'Sorry,' one of the texts said.

Herc smiled softly. It was rare to get an apology. Even rarer one delivered with such a sincere tone to it, coupled with an imploring look out of a fuzzy face that was plain adorable. He just nodded at his son, who looked a lot more relieved after that.

X X X

Chuck chose his own bed in his own quarters for the night again. Herc couldn't fault him for that. Raleigh was his chosen partner and right now Chuck was torn between family and the bond he had to the blond pilot. He trusted them both in this shape, a fact Herc was very glad for, and he just smirked when he dropped his son off at Raleigh's door. Chuck had refused to be carried. Koalas were quite mobile on their four paws and Chuck had made it his goal to be as independent as he could be in this shape.

"Stay off the Jaeger," Herc told his son.

It got him an annoyed rumble.  
Raleigh raised his eyebrows. Herc just shook his head and walked away. No way was he explaining what had happened today. Let them work it out.

tbc...


	4. Chapter 4

When Raleigh wasn't on duty or in training, he usually settled down with something to read. It relaxed him, took his mind off things. It was a passion he shared with Hermann, which also explained the towering stack of books he had next to the old couch in their quarters. Gottlieb regularly let him borrow new books and whenever Raleigh got his hands on something, he shared the new acquisitions with the scientist.

Chuck wasn't much of a reader. Now, as a koala, he had taken to perching behind the blond, paws resting on Raleigh's head, his behind firmly on the back rest of the couch, and he seemed to be reading along.

Or at least peeking now and then.

Raleigh only ever noticed anymore when Chuck poked his blunt, hard nails into his scalp to stop him from turning a page. Those were the mystery novels or the tech manuals. He didn't get into fantasy of sci-fi and had once drawn the line at romance. Raleigh had laughed, shaking his head, wondering where the dog-eared, water-damaged copy had come from. It had been at the bottom of a pile and he couldn't remember if it had been the second hand purchase in Hong Kong or the bag from Hermann.

They made an odd picture, him and Chuck, and he knew it, though he had only realized it when Herc had walked in, grinning from ear to ear when he had seen the pair. Raleigh with his feet up, head against the couch's back rest, and the koala draped over his head, reading.

"Wish I had a camera," Herc remarked.

Chuck grumbled a warning, which had his father grin even more.

Raleigh smiled, reaching up to scratch the Shifter. "Anything you need?"

"No, just checking. You got everything covered, I see. See ya, boys."

Chuck's comment was probably censor-worthy, but the koala grumbling and snarling was unintelligible. Raleigh went back to his book and so did Chuck.

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While he heeded Herc's order – as a father and as the Marshall of the Shatterdome – and didn't work on the Jaeger, Chuck didn't stay away from tinkering. He poked and prodded at parts the mechanics had removed and wanted to look over. He tried out his handiness with the tools of the trade. He even accepted assistance when he reached his limits.

And he suffered through the nightly baths to remove the oil and grime.

Raleigh was always giving him that tolerant, amused smile and he hated him for it – only to snuggle close and drop off like dead every night. Chuck had no idea if it was his Shifter side or a koala trait – he wasn't a koala anyway – but he slept better with company. Physically close company. It had always been his father in the past, but now Raleigh was just as calming and soothing on his nerves.

Chuck had long since given up on being mortally embarrassed by his snuggling needs.

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Raleigh visited Newton without Chuck in tow. Geiszler was still freaked out over what had happened, frantically looking into what in the Kaiju Blue could force a Shifter to change shape, and he wasn't really getting anywhere. He still insisted it was an allergic reaction, but they could hardly test this on other Shifters.

"Though there are those who wouldn't mind," Newt had added when he had gotten the latest update. "I mean, some prefer to be their alter ego. Well, not alter ego. Shifted self. It's not like Chuck's a koala at heart."

He gave Raleigh a slightly frantic grin.

"When was the last time you slept?" Raleigh asked.

Newton blinked up at him. "Slept?"

"Two days ago," Hermann said, sounding as pissed off as he looked. "For an hour. He has this unhealthy tendency to go off the deep end when he can't figure something out."

"I'm not going off the deep end!" Newton shot back, eyes flaring with anger. "I'm invested in my research!"

"Your investment forced a Shift, Dr. Geiszler," came the sharp rebuke. "If you run yourself into the ground, the cure might just be worse than the poison!"

"Poison?" Raleigh exclaimed, alarmed.

"He wasn't poisoned!" Newton said quickly. "Ignore him. I do it all the time. His genetic trait was triggered and like I said, I can't do live experiments, even with volunteers. I'm working with the blood and hair samples from the lab. I've recreated the accident and aside from Chuck getting doused in the distilled Kaiju Blue, there was nothing there to trigger him."

"Then why, Newt?"

It got him a helpless shrug and Newton took off his glasses, massaging his tired eyes. He really did look like he hadn't slept in days.

Hermann limped over, his pale face lined with the same worry Raleigh felt, though he tried to mask it.

"Get some sleep," he said. "You can't think straight!"

"I'm fine!"

"You are not! Every first year intern can see that!"

"Then maybe we should let one of them figure out what went wrong!"

"Right now they would have a better chance than you!" Hermann snapped.

Newton rocked back, looking slightly betrayed.

Raleigh held up his hands. "Uh, guys…"

He knew about Lorse, about the fake signatures, the way the other scientist had foregone safety protocols and security measures, and that he had used an inferior storage tank. Newton wasn't over that yet. He had been and still was the head of the lab, was responsible for everything that happened here, and the betrayal weighed heavily on him.

Newton squared his shoulders. "This was my fault," he said steadily, compounding what Raleigh had just thought about. He was staring at Hermann like he needed to bring the point across. "I can make it right again, okay? All I need to do is figure out what happened to his trigger, what launched this, and we're ready to rumble!"

He stalked back to his side of the lab and Hermann looked after him, his face transforming into one of deep, almost empathic worry.

"He needs to sleep," Raleigh murmured.

"Believe me, I know," Gottlieb answered, voice unusually soft. "So does he. Dr. Geiszler is also one of the most stubborn men I ever had the displeasure of working with."

Raleigh smiled a little. The two men had been lab partners for over ten years. There was no mistaking the deep friendship and maybe just a little more.

Well, a lot more.

It was an open secret and no one would be surprised if they ever showed it more openly than they already did.

"He'll drop like a sack of rice soon," Hermann added with a disgusted sigh.

Raleigh nodded. "What's your take on what happened?" he asked.

Gottlieb glanced at him over the rims of his glasses. "I'm not a biologist, Ranger Becket."

"I know."

It got him raised eyebrows, then a sigh. Hermann leaned a little more on his cane. "I can only speculate. I saw Newton's notes, browsed through the lab reports, went over everything he did. I then compared it to what Dr. Lorse did in the short but unhappily very significant time he graced our lab with his unpleasant presence. Newton was well within safety limits and he knew what he was doing. He is an expert in the field of Kaiju biology for a reason."

Hermann sounded proud. Raleigh could relate.

"By the time Lorse was done, nothing of what Newton did was recognizable and I believe because of the many corners Lorse cut, the distillation process was warped beyond all recognition. The man was atrocious in his note keeping and I can't make a lot of sense out of what he did write down."

Raleigh tried to hide his surprise. He wasn't really successful since Hermann huffed a little.

"The faster this is resolved, the better for the peace of the lab. Dr. Geiszler is an irritating man on the best of days. Right now it's close to impossible to work in peace. But as I was saying, there is nothing that would suggest that anything in a Kaiju's blood can trigger a change in a Shifter human. A lot of blood has been spilled in the past decades," he added, eyes intense. "Various bodily fluids have soaked the ground, has been absorbed by the very earth and the air we breathe. There hasn't been a single incident."

"So it has something to do with what happened to the blood here?"

Hermann nodded slowly. "Either Lorse removed something or added something. Newton has to go back over every scrap and every piece of read-out. It might have been a contamination. It might just be uniquely Chuck Hansen. If he touched something that launched that reaction we might never know."

Well, fuck.

"And… getting his ability to Shift back?"

"He was covered in an alien substance, Raleigh," Hermann said softly. "It triggered him. His skin absorbed part of it, even if the particles were microscopic. If I know one thing about Shifters, it's that their physiology is incredible. They heal and recover faster in their alternate form. I'm no biologist or medic, but I believe that the moment he has cleared his own system, he will be back."

Raleigh gave the other man a smile. "Thanks."

Hermann's face twisted into a frown, his lips forming an even thinner line. He just nodded, then limped off to his side of the lab, but not without glancing over to where Newton was hunched over a tablet, furiously swiping at the images.

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When Raleigh was making runs to the bottom of the ocean with Mako, Chuck had to remain behind. He spent that time in LOCCENT, sitting with Tendo or Herc, listening and watching attentively. The runs were for scans of the Breach or to recover whatever they could still find down there and sometimes just to test the new additions to the Mark-VII Jaeger.

It was routine and then again it wasn't.

Having a koala in their midst definitely wasn't, though Chuck was extremely well-behaved. As long as no one made the mistake to react to him like one would to a pet, he was just fine. One of the new LOCCENT techs made that mistake only once, petting him like she would a dog or a cat.

She ran from the control center, mortified, the moment she realized what she had done. She came back apologizing profusely later on.

Chuck had ignored her ever since.

Tendo's amusement knew no end.

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Three weeks after the incident, Raleigh really wished he could talk to Chuck. Touch something without fur, with human skin. Look into the mocking eyes, hear that taunting jibes, and just kiss the other man silly.

From the way the koala resting on his chest was staring at him, so did Chuck.

Raleigh reached up, scratching him behind one ear. He knew how much Chuck loved it, how it relaxed him, and the paws curling into his sweater were a clear indicator again. As was the rumbling sound coming from his partner.

They had ended up in bed after a long day with tedious and mind-numbing hours in the lab, Chuck getting poked and prodded to the point he was close to biting whoever touched him next. Chuck had claimed his spot on Raleigh's stomach, inching slightly forward until he was almost nose to nose with the other Jaeger pilot, eyes filled with the same longing Raleigh felt.

"This sucks," the blond murmured, playing with one feathery-soft ear tuft.

He got a soft huff of agreement.

"Would you even know if you could Shift again?"

Chuck narrowed his eyes and snorted.

"Oh. Okay. I guess that means you're always trying, hm?"

The koala nodded.

It had to be so frustrating. Sure, Chuck knew himself as a koala and he could walk and climb and even type, though the typos frustrated him, but he wasn't human. He couldn't go into the Kwoon to work off his anger. He wouldn't putter around the Jaeger bays. He couldn't fucking Drift!

That was most likely the part that hurt the most.

"Sucks," Raleigh murmured.

Chuck's expression reflected a clear 'you don't say!'. He smiled and brushed a single finger over the curving nose.

Chuck wrinkled that nose and went a little cross-eyed.

X X X

Chuck took to exploring the vents again after that. It was his way to work off the frustration. Raleigh guessed that if he was pushed any further or denied this kind of exercise, fingers would be bitten off or eyes clawed out.

The Shifter always came back in the evening, looking a lot more relaxed, amicable, close to purring, and always covered in dust, oil and other substances Raleigh didn't really want to think about. He simply plunked Chuck down in the sink, turned on the water, shampooed the cooperative koala, and finally dried him.

He was turning into a pro.

"Huh. If the PPDC decides to close down, I can always open up a doggy grooming station."

It got him a dripping wet sponge to the face.

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"A what?!"

Raleigh frowned as he walked into the lab, Chuck looking over his shoulder from his usual position on the other man's back. His size allowed for a comfortable perch/lean/grab and Raleigh had actually stopped noticing the small weight. He was unconsciously adjusting for Chuck's presence.

"_Thylarctos plummetus_," Tendo could be heard. "The dropbear."

Chuck made a soft noise, for Raleigh's ears only. It was the koala equivalent of a chuckle.

"There is no such thing!" Newton argued.

"Oh, there is. Rare Australian kind of marsupial. I always suspected Chuck might be more than a koala, with his knack for disappearing inside vents for hours or even days."

Raleigh watched as Newton nervously looked around and then up, inspecting the ceiling fans.

"They are related to koalas," Tendo went on, looking way too amused. "They attack their prey by dropping onto their heads from above. Just saying that you might want to be careful."

"Oh please!" Hermann limped over to them, face reflecting disdain. "Fairy tales and local lore! Frightening Dr. Geiszler has no purpose whatsoever!"

"He didn't frighten me."

"No, more like terrorized," Raleigh remarked.

Newton whirled around, saw Chuck on Raleigh's shoulder, and eeped faintly.

"Dropbear, Tendo?"

Chuck snorted and shook his head.

"Hey, it's true! The Australian Museum has an exhibit on them!"

"Right…"

Chuck snorted again.

"The description says they are about the size of a very large dog, have coarse orange fur with dark mottling, have powerful forearms for climbing and attacking prey, and their bite is terrible." Tendo frowned at Chuck. "Then again, yeah, he looks a bit of a lightweight for a dropbear. Not enough greens as a kid, huh?"

Now the koala Shifter rumbled a warning and flipped Tendo off.

"Color's a bit off, too. Maybe he's in his baby stage."

"You better get going or I will drop him on you," Raleigh warned.

Chuck had by now hoisted himself up on his partner's shoulders, one paw buried in the blond hair for balance, glaring viciously.

Tendo grinned, waved, then he was off. His lack of fear when it came to Chuck was admirable.

Newton eyed the two new-arrivals carefully.

"Geiszler!" Hermann snapped and Newton flinched. "He's not going to attack you!"

Chuck cocked his head, then huffed as if to say he surely wouldn't, unless provoked. Then he could be as vicious as a Kaiju.

"I really am sorry," Newton said. "I didn't mean to harm you, Chuck."

Another huff.

"We know," Raleigh translated. "It was an accident and no one could have known that whatever that stuff was, it contained a substance that triggers Shifters."

"We're pretty close to getting to the bottom of it all," Newton said, some excitement leaking back into his voice. "It's an allergic reaction, just like I suspected. Instantaneous, ingenious, and completely harmless."

Chuck rumbled.

"Well, unless you are a Shifter, yes," Newton admitted. "But it's nothing permanent. I think."

"You think?"

"I've been testing all blood samples Medical sent over and the… contamination, so to speak, is lessening. Some people break out in hives, others get splotches, the next has teary eyes or trouble breathing. Chuck… Shifted. It should be cleared by your own system soon."

"So he can Shift back to human again?"

Newton nodded. "He should have no problem."

"Good to hear."

"I also destroyed whatever was left of the blood," the scientist added softly, looking at Chuck. "A small sample will be kept, but for now distilling Kaiju Blue isn't high on anyone's list. I got a team working on what exactly caused the reaction and whether or not it was Lorse's lax run of lab protocols or something that had nothing to do with him, though I really doubt that. New safety measures include that no Shifter comes in contact with anything Kaiju without wearing full protective gear."

"How many Shifters work in K-sciences?"

"No clue, actually. You don't have to write it in your resume." Newton shrugged. "Actually, everyone is wearing full protective gear unless we know they aren't Shifters. Like me."

"But you don't know if this was a freak incident or something Kaiju fluids can do to a human with this particular, genetic trait," Raleigh said.

"Yeah. Sucks. Thing is, one of the techs has a sister who is a Shifter. She volunteered to be a guinea pig."

Chuck's noise of surprise was echoed by Raleigh's raised eyebrows.

Newton fidgeted uncomfortably. "Marshall said no. No human experiments. I'm all for it, too, dude. Really! We have no idea what this would do to someone else. I mean, an allergy is something unique to the person who has it. Not everyone shares that allergy, so it stands to reason not every Shifter shares what happened to you, Chuck. It could be seriously bad for her."

"But she volunteered nevertheless?" Raleigh asked, flabbergasted.

"I guess. I don't know her, but I know some Shifters don't like what they are or what they turn into or that they can't be their alternate form forever, that they are also human. If she's one of them, no telling what her motivation is."

Chuck grumble-growled something, claws flexing into Raleigh's sweater. While he wasn't a happy camper right now, forced to be a koala, he wasn't ashamed of himself.

Raleigh reached up automatically and scratched him. It was an unconscious gesture and Newton colored a little.

Chuck smacked his hand away and Raleigh smiled. It got him a huff.

"We'll leave you to your work," the blond said. "Lunch is calling."

The koala made a happy noise.

"Want something?" Raleigh asked Newton.

"Nah, I'm good."

They walked out, Chuck muttering something into his ear.

"If this is you asking for hamburger, I've no idea what the kitchen has today. Might just be spaghetti."

Chuck groaned. He liked spaghetti, just the sauce was a problem for a koala who ended up looking like a roadside accident more often than not. Last time Raleigh had to pluck the Shifter off a laughing Tendo Choi, who had had the bad grace to break out in close-to-hysterics over the sight.

Then again, soup wasn't much better in that regard. Some food things were not koala friendly. Give him pizza, spring rolls, fries or burgers any day.

tbc...


	5. Chapter 5

Chuck's change back into his human form was rather anti-climatic.

At least considering that for almost two months he couldn't Shift and had been forced to live his life as a koala.

Raleigh had been in the Kwoon all day, feeling sore and tired and exhausted, and he had come back to his quarters for a long shower and a relaxing evening. He had a few reports to read, emails to answer, and he had planned to take some of his vacation days soon. As soon, actually, as Chuck, was himself again.

What he found was the man he had been thinking about, lounging in a chair, drinking a beer, looking incredibly smug as Raleigh gaped at him.

"Chuck?!"

"In the flesh."

"When…?"

"This morning, after you left for your date with Mako."

"No one told me!"

Chuck rose, grinning more. "Surprise?"

Raleigh stared at him.

"I had my medical eval. I'm good. More than good. Shifting as usual." He closed the distance and leaned in to kiss the stunned blond. "Didn't want them to pull you out of the session you were in."

"But…"

"You couldn't have done anything, Ray," Chuck said calmly. He brushed a hand over the sweaty t-shirt Raleigh was wearing. "You need a shower," he remarked.

"I know."

"I'll still be here when you get out."

"I hope so," Raleigh managed.

"Doc said to take it easy." The ginger eyebrows waggled. "I know something very easy and relaxing."

Raleigh swallowed. He had missed Chuck. In many ways. So many, many ways.

The shower was one of the fastest he had ever taken. Part of him was afraid to find a koala sitting on his bed, another part called him an idiot and a fool.

Chuck was still there, naked, completely unashamed of lounging on the bed in a clearly suggestive position, and his smile was beyond dirty.

Raleigh felt all blood pool in his dick, tenting the towel he had slung around his hips, and he knew he was done for. Completely done for.

"Like what you see?" the Australian drawled, that cocky, cocky smile on his lips. His eyes were crinkling with the amusement he felt.

Raleigh took the last few steps to the bed and Chuck reached out for the towel. His fingers were caught and intense eyes met Raleigh's. Chuck suddenly pulled him forward. Raleigh let himself fall, but not without taking care not to land on the other man. Chuck's free hand cupped the blond head, leading him into a kiss. Stubble brushed against clean shaven skin in a delightful friction.

Raleigh was only too willing to comply and their lips met, tongues brushing against each other. He felt something inside him unknot, something that had been wound so tight ever since Chuck's forced Shift, it had felt like an explosion waiting to happen.

"I'm fine," Chuck whispered against his lips as they parted just a little. "Perfectly fine."

"I know," he managed.

The next kiss was more intense, almost overpowering in its strength, and Raleigh fought back as good as he got. It was like a small war for dominance and suddenly Chuck relented, almost surrendering. Raleigh was too caught up in the rush of the physical contact, of feeling all of Chuck, naked and willing and his human self, under his exploring hands.

When it finally registered, he was too hard, too wanting, too… lost in Chuck. He stared at him, took in the flushed skin, the tousled, ginger hair, the freckles he loved so much, the blatant want and need in the familiar, teasing eyes.

"Seen enough?" Chuck growled. "Not turning into a fuzz face."

"I really hope not," Raleigh managed.

Again he was pulled down, fiercely kissed.

"Stop thinking," Chuck growled.

"Bossy."

"You like it."

"Might have preferred you as a koala, now that I think about it. More quiet." Raleigh kissed a trail down Chuck's neck and bit it gently.

"Careful, Becket. I might just make your wish come true."

Raleigh wrapped a hand around Chuck's hard dick, moving it slowly, with just a little twist. It elicited a groan from the younger man.

"You were saying?" Raleigh asked, voice soft and breathy.

"Fuck!"

"Love to."

"Then get on with it, has been!"

"Bossy," Raleigh only repeated.

But he did get on with it.

Quite intensely, too.

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"I love you."

Chuck looked down at Raleigh, took in the serious expression, the intensity in the blue eyes, and he felt something curl inside him.

"No matter what shape?" he teased

"No matter what shape," Raleigh agreed.

"You really think you'd have stuck around with a fuzz face hanging on to your shoulder?"

"I would have."

Fuck. He was so absolutely fucked! Raleigh was dead serious and Chuck believed him. It wasn't a lie.

"Would have put a crimp in some things…"

Raleigh chuckled. "I love you, Charles Hansen. Not just for your body."

"Which I never heard you complain about."

"Nothing to complain about."

"Hm, thought so."

Raleigh pulled him into a kiss, nipping at his lips.

"You really wouldn't miss all this, Ray?" he teased when they parted.

"You'd still be there. And we'd work on a solution."

"Might have been permanent means forever."

"I wouldn't dump you over this."

"Over being fuzzy all over?"

Raleigh smiled and kissed him again, leisurely and explorative. "You didn't stay fuzzy," he murmured.

"Thank god."

Chuck wrapped his arms around the other man and pulled him closer. Raleigh buried his face against the Australian's shoulder. One hand rested on Chuck's stomach, the thumb stroking over the spattering of hair on his lower belly. It was nice, almost like a petting stroke, and…

Chuck knew he shouldn't, but the opportunity was just too good. And he was a Shifter. And he sure as hell wasn't too old for something like that.

Raleigh gave a yell of alarm, almost shock, when the human body in his arms was suddenly no more, Shifting into the well-known shape of the koala.

Chuck grinned at him like only a koala could, the black button eyes dancing with mirth and laughter as Raleigh fell off the bed.

"Hansen!" Becket yelled, eyes wide, pupils dilated with the shock.

Chuck laughed. Well, not really. Koalas and laughing didn't fit. But in his own way he did.

Until he was hit square in the face with a pillow. Actually, the pillow hit him like a full body tackle due to the size, and he tumbled over the mattress to end up on the floor as well. Just on the other side of the bed.

"Shit!" Raleigh cursed and scrambled over the bed to look down at his partner.

Chuck only smirked back up at him.

"You little shit!"

_Right back atcha!_ he thought.

Raleigh slumped back onto the mattress and scrubbed a hand over his features. "Chuck…" he groaned.

"Yep," he answered with a special intonation on the p. The Shift back had been easy as pie.

Raleigh glared at him. "I hate your furry little butt!"

"Nope. You love my little butt, furry or not." He chuckled as he looked into the almost resigned face. "And no, that's not a come on for furry sex. Unless you want to get your fingers bitten off."

"Fuck off," was the level reply.

Chuck leaned over him and kissed Raleigh upside down. It was without finesse and really nothing special, but he felt the smile. And the fingers brushing over the skin of his face were gentle and warm.

"Don't do it again," Raleigh murmured quietly.

"Won't. Just wanted to let you know that I'm good. Really. No ill effects."

"Good to know."

Chuck climbed back into the bed and pulled the blond back to him. Raleigh shot him a warning look, coupled with just a hint of suspicion, but he wouldn't pull that stunt again.

Still, it had been worth it.

"Sorry," he murmured, laughter in his eyes.

"You're not," Raleigh replied easily.

"Not really, no."

Chuck claimed a kiss, pouring emotions he rarely talked about into the loving contact.

Raleigh smiled when he pulled back, carding his fingers into the short, ginger strands, studying his face in a way that had Chuck almost blush.

"Got a date with Mako," he said, out of the blue, startling Raleigh into a little laugh. "Two months out of shape, Becket."

"Hardly."

The free hand caressed the lean side, thumb brushing over warm, pale skin.

"When?" Raleigh asked, a mischievous light in the blue eyes that had Chuck want to keep him in bed all day.

"Two hours."

"Hm, enough time."

"More than enough."

"Not for what I have planned."

He grinned, liking the challenge. "Bring it on, has been."

Now the mischievous light turned into a downright gleam.

X X X

When Chuck walked into the Kwoon, Mako Mori hid the smile threatening to spill behind a hand.

"Shut up!" the other pilot grumbled, stretching to warm up.

"I was not going to say anything."

"Good."

She decided not to go easy on him. It would only damage his pride.

Instead she whipped his already sore ass.

It was business as usual.

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Chuck made it into the K-science main lab after a long, hot shower that loosened his muscles. Newton dropped what he had been working on and enveloped the other man in a bear hug.

Chuck gave an 'oomph' of surprise, then laughed softly and hugged the scientist back.

It said more than anything and he didn't need any apologies.

Things were back to normal.

Hopefully they would stay that way.

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It was two weeks after Chuck's change back into a human being that Herc got a report on his desk about the whereabouts of one Dr. Lorse.

He didn't know whether to be horrified by his own reaction to the news that Lorse had blown himself up in a lab accident not long after he had had his brief stint in the Shatterdome. He felt viciously pleased, almost sadistically so. Part of him had wanted to beat the crap out of the man who had forced Chuck to Shift, simply because he had cut corners in his research. Another part had wanted to drag him to court and get him what he deserved. And the primal, parental, protective part snarled in pleasure at the man's fate.

Herc closed the report and leaned back.

For a moment he enjoyed his darker nature, then he turned back to work. The file remained where it was and he would give his head K-scientists the news, as well as request that Lorse's work notes and whatever else he had left behind would be sent to Newton. Just in case. Newton was already going through ever file and every project with a fine-toothed comb. He didn't want any more surprises.

Herc had to agree.

The past weeks had been enough.

And enough was enough.

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I know FFNet doesn't let me post links to the art that inspired this, so I can't show you what inspired me.  
Inspiration:

Those who haunt Kaiju Size Feels' tumblr might have seen that one or two.

To sum it up: I'm so easily amused by koala art and pics, my brain hands me scenes and demands I make a story out of it!  
*headdesk*

If I could draw, I wouldn't write. I'd have made this into a comic with text passages ;) Thank you all for inspiring me!


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